Deuteronomy 16:13

The Festival of Temporary Shelters

16:13 You must celebrate the Festival of Temporary Shelters ¹  for seven days, at the time of the grain and grape harvest. ² 

Deuteronomy 31:10

31:10 He ³  commanded them: “At the end of seven years, at the appointed time of the cancellation of debts, ⁴  at the Feast of Temporary Shelters, ⁵ 

[16:13]  ¹ tn The Hebrew phrase חַג הַסֻּכֹּת (khag hassukot, “festival of huts” or “festival of shelters”) is traditionally known as the Feast of Tabernacles. The rendering “booths” (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV) is now preferable to the traditional “tabernacles” (KJV, ASV, NIV) in light of the meaning of the term סֻכָּה (sukkah, “hut; booth”), but “booths” are frequently associated with trade shows and craft fairs in contemporary American English. Clearer is the English term “shelters” (so NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT), but this does not reflect the temporary nature of the living arrangement. This feast was a commemoration of the wanderings of the Israelites after they left Egypt, suggesting that a translation like “temporary shelters” is more appropriate.

[16:13]  ² tn Heb “when you gather in your threshing-floor and winepress.”

[31:10]  ³ tn Heb “Moses.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:10]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term שְׁמִטָּה (shÿmittah), a derivative of the verb שָׁמַט (shamat, “to release; to relinquish”), refers to the procedure whereby debts of all fellow Israelites were to be canceled. Since the Feast of Tabernacles celebrated God’s own deliverance of and provision for his people, this was an appropriate time for Israelites to release one another. See note on this word at Deut 15:1.

[31:10]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew phrase הַסֻּכּוֹת[חַג] ([khag] hassukot, “[festival of] huts” [or “shelters”]) is traditionally known as the Feast of Tabernacles. See note on the name of the festival in Deut 16:13.